


Frigid

by pkmntrainer_alex



Series: OTPtober 2020 - Ichiji x Nami [14]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bickering, Established Relationship, F/M, Injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:40:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26889016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pkmntrainer_alex/pseuds/pkmntrainer_alex
Summary: A holiday vacation starts off on the wrong foot at the ski resort - namely, in the parking lot, when foot-meets-black-ice occurs shortly after arrival. Nearly eight hours in a plane and three hours in a car, and Ichiji immediately finds himself on his back, staring up at the snowy sky.
Relationships: Nami/Vinsmoke Ichiji
Series: OTPtober 2020 - Ichiji x Nami [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1946653
Comments: 5
Kudos: 5





	Frigid

**Author's Note:**

> **Day 8 [SFW] - Sick/Injured**

“You’re hurt.”

“I’m fine.” Ichiji was not, in fact, fine. He could feel agonizing pain in his head, his back, the elbow that had slammed into the asphalt first, and then in the leg that had caused all the trouble in the first place. Adding insult to injury, Ichiji was all too aware of just how uncharacteristically loud the noise he made when he first slipped was - and has no doubt in his mind that everyone within a 30 kilometer radius heard him. If he had to have fallen in such a way, why couldn’t he have been knocked unconscious?

Ichiji blinked, and then there was a soft mitten brushing his hair out of his face, and Nami’s worried brown eyes gazing down at him. He could see her anxiously looking around the parking lot, biting her bottom lip.

“Do  _ not _ wave someone over to help,” Ichiji demanded.

“You can’t  _ seriously _ be concerned with saving face and looking stoic with a twisted ankle,” Nami snapped at him, annoyed. Her cheeks were pink with the cold, and he could see delicate snowflakes speckling her bright orange hair and yellow coat. The pain all over his body couldn’t dull her beauty. “Don’t be a macho idiot. You’re hurt.”

“I don’t want other people to help.” If his brothers caught wind, Ichiji would  _ never _ hear the end of it. Still, he wasn’t interested in spending his vacation laying in a wet and cold parking lot until he felt like he could stand up again. Sighing deeply - and trying to ignore the sharp pain all up and down his back - Ichiji extended a black-gloved hand to Nami. “I’ll...accept help from  _ you _ , and no one else. Just...help me get, uh...back in the car. And we’ll figure it out from there.”

‘Figuring it out’ was, really, code for ‘we’ll drive back to our private cabin and call a doctor while I pound back whiskey and aspirin’ but Ichiji knew he didn’t have to spell that out for Nami.

Groaning, Nami knelt down in the icy slush next to Ichiji, gingerly sliding her arm beneath his shoulders and holding onto him. He sat up slowly, pain radiating from the back of his head all the way to his tailbone - but it felt worse still in his ankle, which felt like it was ballooning bigger by the second, straining against the inside of his boots. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Ichiji slowly got back to his feet, leaning on Nami more than he had hoped he needed.

“People are watching,” Nami murmured in his ear as he steadied himself against her, trying desperately to avoid putting weight on his injured ankle as he half-walked, half-hopped back towards the car. “I think people can tell you’re hurt.”

“I’m fine.” As before, Ichiji was not, in fact, fine. The car was so close and so far away, he could smell its rich leather and the little snowman air freshener Nami had insisted on hanging from the rear-view mirror. “I’m fine. Unlock the car, I’ll get myself in.”

Nami’s eyes narrowed as she shot him a look, arm holding tighter around him as they drew closer to the car, which was quickly changing from black to white under the steady snowfall. “I’m not letting go of you. That’s just going to entail picking you back up off the pavement. And if  _ that _ happens again, I’m going and getting help. I don’t care what you have to say about it.”

Ichiji snorted, rolling his eyes behind his sunglasses. Nami pinched his ribs hard, reminding him that - as she had pointed out countless times - she knew when he was rolling his eyes at her without having to actually see his eyes. “Just unlock the car and get yourself in.”

“Fine,” Nami answered coolly, releasing Ichiji and stepping away. Taking a deep breath and becoming immediately discouraged at how much he was wobbling on one leg, Ichiji tried to move forward. He knew it was a mistake the second his weight shifted, and to his horror, he felt the world beginning to tilt beneath his feet again.

To his immense relief and shame, there was a flash of yellow as he felt Nami’s arm shooting around him again, catching him right below his arms before he could fully collapse again. He felt her knees buckle slightly before she straightened back up, shoulders straight and head held up high. Inside, he felt himself shriveling up slightly.

“Stop being a meat-headed idiot,” Nami growled into his ear, just audible enough for him and him only.

No longer sure if his body or his pride hurt more, Ichiji gave a meek nod as Nami brought him to the passenger side door, helping him in and gently lifting his injured leg in without smacking it on anything - a feat he highly doubted he could’ve pulled off on a good day. “I’m sorry I ruined our vacation,” he quietly muttered as Nami climbed into the driver’s seat, starting the car and bathing them both in a warm jet of air from the vents.

Laughing and looking happier again, Nami gave him a wink. “You just gave me an excuse to stay inside a warm cabin drinking hot chocolate all day. You didn’t ruin anything.” Her smile quickly turned into a stern expression as she leaned in threateningly, bringing her face to his. “We’re calling a doctor when we get back to the cabin.”

“No objection,” Ichiji quickly answered, holding both hands up. His injured elbow sent a scream of pain all the way up to his shoulder at the sudden movement, and he grimaced in pain.

“First smart thing you’ve said since we got here,” Nami laughed as she eased the car out of the space, flicking on the wipers to brush away the snowflakes that continued to fall. “You should try listening to me more often, handsome. Hurry up and get that boot off before we end up having to cut it off of you.”

Feeling vaguely ashamed of his stubborn behavior, Ichiji slowly bent forward, easing into pulling off the boot without exacerbating his back or his elbow - which felt like an impossibility. He wondered if hot chocolate and aspirin was a better combination than whiskey and aspirin - he would have to test it once they got back.


End file.
